www.milduraweekly.com.au
4 Mildura Weekly – 18/07/14
By VINNIE RODI
INDUSTRY stakeholders are being
encouraged to have their say on the
future of Victoria’s rail network, with
the Murray Basin Rail Project edging
closer to a start date.
The Victorian Government has
already committed $220million
to the project – including $40mil-
lion to upgrade the Hopetoun and
Mildura rail lines – with the aim
to standardise rail from Mildura to
Geelong and change the way freight
is transported in the western half of
the State.
Once complete the project will
help the State’s farmers and busi-
nesses save on transport costs, take
thousands of trucks off the State’s
roads, and potentially reduce the
time it takes to move freight from
Mildura to Melbourne.
The call for industry feedback
comes after the release of the Murray
Basin Future Freight Demand and
Infrastructure Requirements Study –
a document prepared by the Depart-
ment of Transport, Planning and Lo-
cal Infrastructure – which identifies
four intrastate rail network change
options.
Member for Mildura Peter Crisp
– who was joined by Deputy Premier
Peter Ryan this week to announce
the consultation stage of the project
–
said it would build and upgrade
freight lines on the network to 21
tonne per axle loading.
“This means trains will be able
to haul an extra 300 to 400 tonnes,
or 15 percent more weight, and also
means about 10 trucks will be taken
off the road for each train trip,” he
said.
“Victorian produce will get to
Portland, Geelong and Melbourne
faster and more cheaply, keeping
transport costs down – which is es-
sential for Mildura farmers and busi-
nesses aiming to export produce
onto the world market.
“Ultimately this project will en-
able a Transcontinental Rail Link
between Mildura and Broken Hill,
connecting to the Perth interstate
rail line.”
All four proposed options have
their ‘pros and cons’ according to
Wakefield Transport managing direc-
tor Ken Wakefield, who urged Mil-
dura stakeholders to have their say
on which way the Government goes.
“I’ve read the report, and there’s
certainly some exciting options,” he
said. “The majority of options will
reduce the time it takes to get to Mel-
bourne, with only one option set to
increase travel time.
“I’ll certainly be putting my
views forward to ensure Sunraysia
can reap the benefits of this project,
and I encourage others in the district
with an interest to do the same.
“This project has been a long
time coming, and it’s great that the
Coalition Government has been
able to deliver.”
Mr Wakefield said Option 2
–
a new rail link from Litchfield
to Minyip and Donald to Yelta –
seemed, at first glance, like a good
“starting point.”
“Reading through the report –
and there is still some mapping that
I need to do – the Litchfield option
gets Mildura freight on the main
line quicker, while severely reducing
travel times.
“That upgrade would also pick
up the majority of grain between
here and Litchfield, which is the vast
majority of grain in the Mallee.
“The grain industry will be a sig-
nificant beneficiary of this project,
while personally we’re looking at
any way we can decrease the time it
takes to get to Melbourne.
“At the moment it takes 14
hours to get produce to Melbourne
by freight, and what this project
does is create flexibility to cater to
peak season demand.
“Primarily we see a significant
spike during the citrus and table
grape season, and it’s during those
times that we need to send down
more containers in a shorter time.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said
the project had been a “century in
the making.”
“The Victorian Government has
committed up to $220million from
this year’s budget to get this project
done – so we’re ready and raring to
go.
“The views of stakeholders will
be fed into the Murray Basin Rail
Project’s business case – which is due
at the end of this year.
“Depending on which way that
business case take us, the project
could get under way next year, and
be completed some time in 2018.”
The final ‘alignment’ of the Mur-
ray Basin Rail Project will be based
on the business case, with the Mur-
ray Basin Future Freight Demand
and Infrastructure Requirements
Study available online at www.dtpli.
vic.gov.au/freight.
State begins Murray Basin
Rail Project
consultation
• FEEDBACK
WANTED:
Victorian Deputy
Premier, Peter
Ryan (centre)
and Member for
Mildura Peter
Crisp (right) are
calling on industry
stakeholders –
like Wakefield
Transport
managing director
Ken Wakefield –
to have their say
on the future of
the State’s rail
network.
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